Enemies Closer (6 page)

Michelle was shaking her head slowly. “You should ask Susan, our front of house manager, and our bartenders. They see more of that stuff than I do. I come in in the morning and leave once we’re all set up for the dinner service. Maddy comes in after the lunch rush and works through dinner, so we’re really never here together when we have diners or drinkers.”

Kincaid asked for names and contact numbers for the staff and Michelle went back to the office to print out a copy of the phone list.

“What do you think?” asked Carlisle.

“I think she wants us to find her friend, but I don’t think she’s telling us everything.”

“They never do,” she replied as Michelle walked back into the dining room.

“Here’s a list of everyone.” Pulling out a yellow highlighter pen, she said, “I’ll mark the people who will probably be most helpful.”

“Are any of them working tonight?”

“Yes. Susan is. And Joe, one of our bartenders. They both talked to Clara yesterday.”

That raised Carlisle’s eyebrow again. Clara hadn’t mentioned
that
.

“Here,” Michelle said and passed the sheet of paper across the table. “It might be better if you call them at home. Tonight is going to be busy.”

The detectives nodded noncommittally. They would come in tonight no matter how busy it was.

It was quarter past ten when they left, opting to walk to Gigi’s Bistro since they were parked about midway between the two restaurants. “Plus,” said Kincaid, “we can go through the market and pick up a sandwich.”

“Weren’t you going to go on a diet, Jerry?” his partner replied, pointing a finger at his belly straining the belt on his suit.

“I am on a diet, Judy.” He sucked in his stomach and patted it. “I didn’t say anything about pastries.”

Carlisle smiled. She could do with a sandwich too, and she didn’t want to show up to do an important interview in a restaurant with a growling stomach. It might impugn her authority. They made their way to one of the bakeries on Pike Place next to a flower market. “God, it’s nice out. I hope I can get a run in today.”

“All right, Judy, don’t rub it in. I’ll get turkey and mustard instead of steak and cheese.”

They ate their sandwiches as they walked, stopping to look out over Puget Sound and Mount Rainier rising in the distance. “No place I’d rather live,” said Kincaid, then his mood darkened and he added, “We have to find Maddy Gardner. Something definitely doesn’t smell right. I just don’t buy that she would take off and leave her restaurant behind.”

Carlisle agreed. Something was up. Lingering by the artists’ tables on the north end of the market, they finished eating and arrived at Gigi’s a few minutes before eleven. The bistro was closed but they could see the waitstaff setting up through big panel windows. Both detectives pulled their badges and Kincaid knocked heavily on the door. He could see someone at the host stand point to her watch and then smile and throw her hands in the air as if to say,
So sorry!

This time he tapped his gold badge against the window and Carlisle held hers up too. Looking perplexed, the woman said something over her shoulder and finally walked up and unlocked the door. She wasn’t ready to let them in, though.

“May I help you, officers?” she said, smiling through ten inches of open door.

Kincaid kept his face stony. “
Detectives
Kincaid and Carlisle. We’re here about a missing woman and we need to talk to some of your staff.”

She replied with the same
I’m sorry
shrug she had given them when he knocked. “We’re really busy getting ready to open for lunch. It might be better if you come back around two.”

Carlisle had to turn her head to hide her smile. Kincaid couldn’t stand to be patronized.

“Sure. Or we could come back at eleven-thirty when you’re really busy serving lunch. Would you prefer that?”

Before she could answer a tall, beautiful woman in her forties took hold of the door and opened it wide. “Please, detectives, come in.” The other woman looked surprised and a little guilty. “It’s okay, Marie, just finish up the reservation list.

“Gemma Stein. I’m one of the owners of Gigi’s.” The woman’s posture was regal and when she held out a hand, Carlisle couldn’t help but notice the giant diamond weighing it down. “Clara Gardner came in last night, so I thought the police would make a visit too.” She led them to a table and ordered coffee from a passing waiter.

“Anything we can do, just ask.”

This was shaping up to be one of the most cordial interviews she’d ever conducted, thought Carlisle as she asked her first question. “Were you here on Monday night when Madeline Gardner came in for dinner?”

“Yes,” said Gemma Stein, meeting the detective’s gaze, “but I only saw her in passing.” She explained that she had been in the office doing paperwork and only saw Maddy long enough to exchange a few words on the way out the door.

“You saw Madeline leaving?”

“No, I was leaving. I saw her by the ladies’ restroom. She was just ending a call – at least that’s what it looked like. I said hello, she said hello, we made small talk and walked back out to the dining room together. I think I asked about Dovetail. That was it.”

“Why did you ask about Madeline’s restaurant?” asked Kincaid.

Gemma didn’t flinch. “Because she and I are in the same business and I’m genuinely interested.”

“Did you have any reason to think that business at Dovetail was not going well?”

“Heavens no.” For the first time since they’d sat down, Gemma seemed surprised and her eyes went wide when she responded to Kincaid’s question. “They’ve been remarkably successful. And I’m not just repeating the rumors. Our company supplies the wine to Dovetail and they buy a lot of wine and spirits. That means they
sell
a lot of wine and spirits, and that means business is good.”

Carlisle asked, “You said
your
company supplies their wine. What company is that?”

“Steinboch Restaurant Group. We own several restaurants in Seattle, a bakery, and a wine wholesaler.”

“And who is
we
?” Kincaid was writing everything down in his trusty notebook.

Addressing her answer to Carlisle apparently because Kincaid wasn’t looking at her, Gemma named herself, her husband and two other investors.

“Did Madeline seem upset or worried when you saw her?”

“No.” She shook her head. “No. Of course, she never does.”

“Did you hear any of her phone conversation?”

“I don’t even know for certain that she was having a telephone conversation. She could have been updating her Facebook page or sending a text. I just saw her press a button and put the phone away. Though, if I had heard her speaking I wouldn’t have listened anyway.” She finished her coffee and checked her watch. Gemma Stein had relayed the information she had and was ready to move on.

“Mrs. Stein, can you look up Madeline’s check from Monday night?” asked Kincaid.

“I’d have to know where she sat.” Gemma looked around. “Kris waited on her. She’ll know.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Stein,” he replied. Clara had told them Maddy had been with Ben Radcliffe on Monday night, but they had to confirm it.

So far, Gemma Stein had been concise and cooperative and this wasn’t the time to go fishing for more information. When she came back with a photocopy of the credit card receipt with Radcliffe’s name and signature Carlisle thanked her and asked to speak to the staff members who had been working Monday night.

“Of course. I’ll check the schedule and see who’s here today.”

When she walked away Kincaid squinted after her. “Seems like a straight shooter.”

“As an arrow,” said Carlisle. “She’s a competitor though, and she does business with Madeline.”

A man in his early thirties, wearing a pressed suit, his dark hair slicked back severely from sharp cheekbones, approached their table. Slender and neat as a pin, he stood about five-ten in his shiny wingtips. “Detectives,” he said gravely, “Harry Reynolds, general manager at Gigi’s Bistro. I was here on Monday night and I talked to Maddy and her date for several minutes.” That stated, he sat down and said, “How can I help?”

Harry’s deep, rich voice and five o’clock shadow belied his slightly effeminate mannerisms and the effect was very appealing, thought Carlisle. She and Kincaid introduced themselves just as Gemma Stein returned to the table with a photocopy of a credit card receipt.

“Anything else I can do to help you find Maddy, let me know.” She handed them each a business card and gracefully turned back to the restaurant.

Watching Kincaid as the detective’s eyes followed Gemma floating into the fray, handing out words of encouragement to her staff as she wound her way back to the office, Harry said, “She’s very beautiful.”

Kincaid shrugged ambivalently. “What can you tell us about Monday night?”

“In general, it was a normal night. We had a good crowd, but Mondays are never out-of-control busy.”

“What time did Madeline Gardner come in?”

“Seven o’clock, I guess. That was her reservation time, but I only know that because I just checked.”

“Did you see her come in?”

“No. I check the reservations list every day so I know what’s happening on the floor and to see whether anyone I know is coming in. When I saw Maddy’s name I made a mental note to check on her table, but I didn’t see her walk through the door.”

“When you checked on her, did she seem upset?”

“Not at all. She was lovely. She’s always lovely.” He paused. “It would be hard to tell if Maddy was troubled. She’s always at ease. Do you know what I mean? Always seems at peace. Even if she’s not smiling and laughing you have the feeling that it’s all good with Maddy.” He shrugged.

“So was she smiling and laughing or just exuding peace and tranquility on Monday night?”

Harry looked at Kincaid, a little surprised, and then he laughed. “I see what you mean, detective.” He tapped his immaculately-buffed fingernails on the table. “She was just exuding.”

“Do you know Maddy personally, or just through the restaurant?” asked Carlisle.

“Both, I guess. I see her around town sometimes. Plus my girlfriend manages the front of the house at Dovetail.”

“Susan?” asked Carlisle. She and Kincaid were both surprised, but for different reasons. Kincaid was surprised because he’d thought Harry was gay, while Carlisle was surprised because of the coincidence.

“Yes.” Now Harry was surprised that the detectives knew his girlfriend’s name. He looked at them and then said, “Oh! Of course, you’ve already been over to Dovetail to talk to the staff there.”

“We spoke to Susan on our way out this morning,” said Kincaid, wondering if the new link would turn into something important.

“So Maddy seemed fine,” said Carlisle, steering them back. “What about the guy she was with?”

“Ben? He seemed happy enough. Normal, I guess.”

Both detectives perked up, but neither showed it. “Do you know Ben?”

Harry looked at Carlisle. “Not very well, but he and Maddy have come in a few times and I’ve seen them at the flower market together. Maddy likes to choose the flowers for her restaurant and I choose them for Gigi’s.” He gestured at small bouquet of yellow flowers on the table and at the enormous vase near the entrance. “We’re both regulars at the place down the street.” Clearly, Carlisle was waiting for more so he went on. “Anyway, when I’ve seen them together, we usually chat for a minute and he seems very nice. Smart.”

“Are he and Madeline dating?”

Harry didn’t hesitate. “I don’t think so. No chemistry between them, but they seemed to be pretty good friends.”

“Did it ever seem that Ben had more in mind than just friendship?”

“Not to me. They were just comfortable together.”

“Do you know how they met?” she asked.

“No idea. Ask Susan, she might know. But he’s not in the restaurant business or Maddy would have mentioned it right away. I want to own my own restaurant someday and she’s great about making connections and talking me up to people in the hospitality trade.”

They asked a few more questions but none of Harry Reynolds’s responses sounded alarm bells. Trading business cards and thanking him for his help, they dismissed the GM and asked him to bring the waitress over.

In the meantime a waiter refilled their coffee cups and Carlisle added a single sugar cube to hers. The detectives sat in silence, each thinking their own thoughts until Kris sat down at the four-top. Kincaid knew in a second that this one was going to be a challenge.

“So, Gemma told me to come talk to you, but I told the sister everything I know when she came in last night.”

Carlisle had a teenaged daughter and was much better at handling self-important young women than her partner, who was liable to threaten her with a jail cell if she tested him. She took the lead. “Did you wait on Madeline Gardner when she came in for dinner on Monday night?”

Kris sighed so heavily that her curly locks shook. “I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I mean, I only know who she is because Harry was here and he told me to take good care of her. And I only remember her because now everybody is coming in asking about her.”

“Did anything stand out to you about Madeline or her date?”

“Her date? I don’t think he was a date. But no, nothing stood out. They came in, seemed to like each other – but not in that way,” she rolled her eyes at Kincaid, “and nothing weird happened until she ran out the door and left her ice cream melting at the table.”

“Did she just get up and leave?”

“I don’t think so. No, I remember. They ordered dessert and coffee and when I brought the coffee she wasn’t there, so I figured she went to the restroom. And then when I brought the pie à la mode, she still wasn’t there, so maybe she’d already left.”

“Did she drink any of her coffee?” asked Carlisle.

“I don’t know.” She thought about it. “No, actually, because I refilled his coffee when I brought dessert and hers was still full.”

“Did you notice her purse or coat at the table?”

“No, but a lot of guests check their coats when they come in. Actually, when I poured the second cup of coffee, the guy was looking toward the bathrooms like he was wondering where she was.” She looked at Detective Carlisle. “I forgot about that.”

“Do you remember her coming back to the table at all?”

“I had a lot of tables, so I was probably running around.” The defensiveness was back in Kris’s voice. “I don’t monitor my diners every second.”